How did other Living Things Come into Existence?

human beings are not by any means the only creatures who exist on earth. there are thousands of other living things, some of which you know and many others you do not. some of them are all around you; you see them everywhere. some of them, however, are so far away that you only have the chance to see them in books or movies. but a closer look at these beings would show you that they all have one feature in common. can you guess what that feature is? we can call it "compatibility." now, let's enumerate what a living thing is compatible with. they are  compatible with:

  the environment in which they live,

  other living things with which they co-exist,

  the elements that maintain the balance of nature,

  the factors that provide benefits for human beings.

before expanding on these, let us take a simple example to clarify the meaning of "compatibility." think about the sockets and plugs in your home. they are perfectly compatible with one another. but how can you tell that they are perfectly compatible with one another? because there are openings in the socket into which the prongs of the plug fit. do you think these are enough? the width of the plug's metal prongs is just the same as the width of the openings in the socket. if this were not the case, the plug would never fit the socket. the distance between the plug's prongs and the distance between the socket's openings are also the same. if they were not the same, the plug would never fit in the socket.

however, these features alone would not be enough to establish the compatibility of the plug and the socket. if the plug were very long, this would again be a failure in terms of compatibility. if the prongs of the plug were non-metallic, they would fail to conduct the electricity in the socket. if the plug were not made of plastic, then every time you held it you would receive an electric shock. as you see, a lack of compatibility in even the simplest device renders that device inoperative. this means that the same person designed the plug and the socket. and he designed them to be compatible with one another. he made them functional. it is unlikely that the metal and plastic could have come together by coincidence and that they were planned separately and independently of each other, because in that case you could never find a socket and plug compatible with one another.

the compatibility of living things is far more complicated than the compatibility in a socket and plug, because living things contain thousands of systems and organs that have to co-exist harmoniously and work together flawlessly. any attempt to write down these systems one by one would fill a library of hundreds of books. therefore, in the following pages we will dwell in brief on these flawless features of the living things created by allah:

- living things are compatible with the environment in

which they live

every living thing, whether on land or in the air, is perfectlycompatible with its habitat. this is how they are created. various perfect systems secure the nutrition, protection and reproduction of living things.

that is to say, each living thing is specially designed in accordance with

its habitat.

the organs and the lifestyles of living things are all compatible with the conditions in their environment. for instance, birds have perfect wings to fly in the sky. fish have specially created gills with which to breathe under water. if they had lungs like us, they would drown.

- living things are compatible with other living things with

which they co-exist

some birds and insects contribute to the reproduction of plants. that means that, although they are unaware of it, they help the growth of plants. for instance, while visiting one flower after another, bees carry pollen. thanks to this process, plants are able to reproduce. in some cases, animals perform actions that are beneficial to other animals.

cleaning fish, for instance, clean micro-organisms off the skins of big fish and thus provide the basis for a healthy life for them. this is another form of compatibility.

- living things are compatible with the

elements that secure the balance of

nature

no living thing, apart from man, disturbs the balance in nature. furthermore, they are created with features that maintain that balance. yet, the balance of the earth is always vulnerable to man's ignorant behaviour. for instance, if man hunts a species beyond reasonable limits, that species becomes extinct. the extinction of that species causes its prey to increase in numbers far too much, which in time endangers the lives of human beings and even nature itself. so, there is an innate balance in the creation of living things; they are totally compatible with the balance of nature, but man alone has the potential to destroy that delicate balance.

- living things are compatible with the

factors that provide benefits for human

beings.

for instance, think about how good honey is for you. how do bees know that you need such a type of nutrition, and how do they produce it? could a chicken, cow or sheep know the nutritional needs of human beings and produce perfect nutrients to meet those needs? of course not.

this astonishing harmony between living things is obvious evidence that a single creator creates them. it is thanks to the flawless creation of allah that these balances exist on earth.